The Dark Side of The Moon
by Penderrin
Summary: Kakashi is curious by nature, sometimes things that intrigue him become his life obsession. Iruka is a lonely man full of pain. Kakashi concludes there's always a darker side to the moon. Everyone had a dark side, but does Iruka. Chapter 2 is up!
1. The Dark side of the moon

**Disclaimer: i do not own naruto as usual! ( i wish i did...jk**

**written by me, Rem hex**

**THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON**

Just as Kakashi had done many nights before, he closed his eyes as he leaned against the trunk of an enchanted tree. Feeling the wind pass him by he listened to their mournful howls and without fail he felt the Chuunin's presence. The Chuunin was never far off.

At the same time each night the Chuunin would follow the same path through the darkened streets towards the alleyways making his way swiftly to the memorial sight where his parents names were carved, heroes they were, leaving him behind in a troubled village where the presence of sorrow, anger and pain lingered even after many years. Most importantly those feelings still existed for one man, a man who lived in the heart of the village, the man he saw standing before him now in darkness, covered by a blanket of shadows. Umino Iruka.

The man had always seemed cheerful when amongst his Genin students and colleagues but the silver haired Jounin knew more than the average person. He knew that Iruka was far from content since he watched the man from his window, back against the outside walls of the Chuunin's compound, neck slightly craned forward just to catch a glimpse of the Chuunin.

For instance, he knew that at the stroke of midnight Iruka would stir restlessly in his bed, calling out the name of his parents and as the night went on he'd become more disturbed. With blankets wrapped around him, almost suffocating him he'd lay sprawled on his bed, then rolling around the brunette would claw the air before him calling his parents names with ragged breaths at first that soon turned into screams. Flinching Kakashi on so many occasions felt the urge to wake the man from his nightmare but didn't want to enter the Chuunin's house without permission. And as rude as he seemed to be he still had manners when it came to certain things, such as this. He did not want to be labeled and an 'intruder.' Not at a moment like this for he understood the word 'privacy.'

The truth was Kakashi was curious by nature. Sometimes the things that intrigued him became his life-time obsession, such as attaining the Sharingan eye and thanks to a certain person he had that now. Currently though, he had this need...this need to satisfy his hunger to know more about the Chuunin and to understand the man behind the mask. After all no one could be that cheerful 24/7, not even a genius such as himself could pull it off; everyone had their darker side, even him the question was, did Iruka have one too?

Feeling lethargic and unable to keep his head erect he opened a lazy eye, tilting his head to rest it against the trunk of the enchanted tree. Kakashi was also deprived of sleep and he felt it was all catching up to him now. _I bet I could sleep standing_ he mused, a slight smile appearing on his lips but hidden by the mask he wore, _I bet I could do that and you wouldn't even know I was here _he thought. The Chuunin had never been good at detecting another's presence, let alone his. There had been so many times where Kakashi had followed the man hiding behind trees, people and buildings; he even hid amongst the shadows up to five feet away from the brunette but nothing seemed to break the man's stride or determination to get home and mark a few papers before going to bed.

_I think what's really giving you the nightmares is the ghastly test and exam papers you take home with you, and what's giving me such awful dreams is the sight of you marking those papers for such long hours. It could give any man nightmares!_ Shuddering at the thought he was brought back to the cold and lonely nights where he'd wake up to the sound of voices calling his name. They were voices of his enemies haunting him. Too many nights he'd hear them whispering nothing in particular, causing his sensitive ears to twitch. Too many nights when he'd see bloody images of them calling to him with open arms, 'come join us,' they'd laugh, 'you don't deserve such a peaceful life after all you've done. Suffer with us Hatake Kakashi.' They'd even taunt him by distorting their features, 'copy this!' They'd mock as their heads became enlarged, crimson tears flowing from their eyes, the sticky liquid also making its way down their nose and lips. Such vengeful creatures they were, now they were trying to break him after all these years of being dormant in the back of his mind...for so long. And so it seemed they finally found a time that was right, they were trying to make him go insane after the torturous death he gave them.

_Too many nights...too many that I can't keep count anymore,_ he moaned. Nowadays he spent his waking life wondering whether he was dreaming for the reality of his life and the horrible images in his dreams merged becoming one and the same and yet they weren't. He was confused. He was tired of being confused, but nothing compared to the façade of Umino Iruka, always smiling in times of great distress, always acting the opposite of how he felt, always suppressing his emotions and locking it away in a place deep inside. It was interesting how people dealt with things differently, Kakashi on the other hand would let his emotions show, but it'd show itself in his visible eye which tended to be engrossed in his perverted book. The reason for it was so people couldn't catch the thoughts or what have he had flowing freely in his mind.

In some ways more than not, he was like an open book and Iruka was not.

TBC

Tell me what you want to happen and review please. Crits welcomed.


	2. Born into darkness

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY IF IT STARTS OFF SLOWLY...MORE ACTION WILL COME SOON AND I'LL BE TAKING IDEAS FROM MY OTHER RATHER WEIRD STORY!

SUMMARY OF LAST CHAPTER - THE PREVIEW OF WHAT WAS TO COME

_Nowadays he spent his waking life wondering whether he was dreaming, for the reality of his life and the horrible images in his dreams merged becoming one and the same and yet they weren't. He was confused. He was tired of being confused, but nothing compared to the façade of Umino Iruka, always smiling in times of great distress, always acting the opposite of how he felt, always suppressing his emotions and locking it away in a place deep inside. It was interesting how people dealt with things differently, Kakashi on the other hand would let his emotions run free, but it'd show itself in his visible eye which tended to be engrossed in his perverted book. The reason for this was to hide his thoughts which flowed like a rapid current in his mind. _

_And there Kakashi stood pondering how in some ways more than not how he was like an open book than Iruka._

* * *

BORN INTO DARKNESS

Iruka's point of view

Standing by the memorial stone, Iruka knelt down on his knees feeling the dew drops from the grass seep through his trousers. It had been raining before he noted and so it was again. There was now a light drizzle coming his way. _Just as well,_ he smiled thoughtfully. The drizzle would hide his tears.

Taking time to trace the engraved names that he held most dear, he cherished the pressure of the grooves on his finger tips and the irregularity of the stone. Although it scratched his sensitive skin, he didn't care, nor did he mind, he just wanted to feel their presence beside him once more, to hear their voices and see their smiles that would lift his heavy heart once again.

Smiling sadly, he prided himself on memorizing each minute curve on the stone. He always did have an excellent memory and an eye for detail. It was his only secret weapons besides his gift for the shadows (note: explained later on in the chapter), for he didn't have endurance, strength nor speed. Nor did he have a special bloodline like the Uchiha's. He was as untalented as you could get, limiting him to a Chuunin level.

Frowning now he felt another's presence. There was only a small amount being released and he wouldn't have detected it if he didn't specialize in chakra controlling and detecting. Although he was a teacher, he'd had to have skills in these areas in order to teach his Genin's, after all, a Genin was only as good as their Sensei. Meaning the knowledge and skills of chakra control relied solely on the Sensei's ability to explain very simply what he knew and pass it down to them, or course it also relied on the Genin's eagerness to learn. Thinking of Naruto now, his eye twitched. That ungrateful brat!

Sighing he separated himself from those godforsaken days and concealed the chakra he used to single out the person's position. He...was not too far off and who ever it was, they were watching him in the dead of the night. _What sort of sick person would watch him cry amongst the graves stones?_ Making a few minor seals, he made sure that they didn't catch the movement of his arms.

Little did they know he too detected them, following him around the village day after day, night after night..._when would this person give up?_

On so many occasions the presence of the other freaked him out. Usually after school he'd feel them walking along side him invisibly. He was scared because they had caught him at a vulnerable time, a time where he couldn't defend himself with all the test papers in hand, so he stumbled home as quickly as his tired legs would take him, feigning ignorance just to save his pitiful life, but not anymore.

Umino Iruka was not one to be tampered with.

Drawing from the anger from within his heart, he unlocked the cage that confined it and set it free. He always had a temper but never had he released the monster that possessed him now. For those who could see his eyes, a new found light replaced the dull and uninteresting ones before. Finally Iruka felt strong, cocky even, but never had he felt so alive than at that moment. The possibility of facing death in the face was just so inviting.

With eyes glittering he stood with hands dipping into his kunai pouch. The person behind him was already shifting, which meant he'd have to do the same.

Moving into an attacking stance, legs apart the brunette whirled around and sliced the air before him sending three kunais in the stranger's direction. With deadly precision they hit their target in the chest, but soon after, the shadow had sent smoke rising into the air and was replaced by a log, Karawami no Jutsu? Iruka exclaimed. Crying out in frustration he sent another kunai in the direction of the stranger but missed. Iruka was too slow.

From then on the battle was a blur of silver and brown with the clashing of metal sounding loudly through out the night and though Iruka was able to keep up with the Jounin, he didn't know how much longer he could last as it was rather obvious the Jounin wasn't going as fast as he could.

_He's making me dodge his attacks_, Iruka mused. He knew the other man's tactics but still couldn't avoid falling into the trap laid out for him. _He's too fast, we've only been in battle for less than 5 minutes and I'm tiring out. I can't keep up!_ Dodging the next attack he stumbled behind a tree gasping for breath. Whoever the other man was, he sure wasn't going easy.

From experience the enemy played with their opponent before slaying them and like so many times before, this tactic had saved Iruka's life. Being seen as a lowly Chuunin they had given him time to run away before they acted. _Run weakling_. _Let's see how fast you can run. Then once we catch you...the torture will begin! _They had laughed kicking him and pushing him forwards in the direction they had picked out for him to go. Hearing similar taunts before, Iruka locked them away in his mind with deadly calm and did the only thing he could and ran.

Knowing he would not be able to take revenge this night he planned to do the same here (i.e. run). He was very good at running, especially from the enemy.

With muscles aching from the lack of training, his knees caved in. Once on the moist grass, he knelt down at the enemy's feet, body locked in place...he couldn't fight anymore, the strain on his body was too much to bear, and the chakra in his system was almost spent save for a minor reserve left for that one...last...move...

* * *

Kakashi's point of view

Upon seeing the Chuunin drop before him, Kakashi decided to end the battle there by throwing out an almighty punch which connected with the brunette's jaw. Hearing a grunt from the younger man, the Jounin laid an open palm against Iruka's chest, knocking him backwards, lastly grasping the man's neck, pushing him up and back, pinning him to the tree behind.

The brunette was planning something, he could tell by the chills he was getting. It was better not to drag the battle for too long. Punching the man in the torso for good measure he watched as the brunette convulsed. He was now fighting for air after the last of it left his lips.

Then something totally unexpected happened.

Iruka's shadow (created by the moonlight behind them) shifted, first to the left than right of the man repeating the motion for quite some time until after what seemed like a struggle, the dark figure broke free, seeping through the man's chest, they collected themselves to form Iruka's 'twin,' rising to face Kakashi. And with no face or any distinguishable features the shadow struck at lightning speed, pounding Kakashi in the face, then once more on the chest forcing him to let go.

Falling back the Jounin quickly recovered as they made their way past him. Striking back with a kunai though, he looked on as Iruka stood his ground and turned, letting the shadow move to defend his master. Falling back through the brunette's back, half its body extended itself from the brunette's own before it bent backwards to see the world upside down, catching the kunai before harmlessly dropping it to the ground.

-

* * *

Iruka's point of view

Walking away he felt faint, until a warm blanket wrapped itself around him, comforting him as a series of thoughts swam in his mind. _Kakashi...was following me all this while? Why?_ Ending them there he hugged himself as he fell backwards into the darkness beneath him. With eyes still opened Iruka watched as his tanned hand was engulfed in shadows, transforming it into darkened air, this being a mere reflection of what was happening to his whole body.

Welcoming the lightness that came along with the transformation he smiled for the second time that night before letting the his 'twin' bring him home, then tucking him in. And just as he was born into darkness, he would die there too, night after night as pieces of him broke away leaving a lesser being filling the empty shell known as Umino Iruka.


End file.
